Finance
India vs West Indies Highlights, T20 World Cup 2026: Sanju Samson led India to victory with a remarkable innings of 97* off 50 balls, helping them complete a 196-run chase against the West Indies in a virtual quarter-final of the T20 World Cup 2026 Super 8, in Kolkata on Sunday. With the win, India advances to the semi-finals, while the West Indies are eliminated. Samson carried his bat through as India completed the most successful T20I run chase at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens, as well as the most successful chase in T20 World Cup history. West Indies scored 195/5 in 20 overs after being called in to bat. India will face England in the semi-final on Thursday in Mumbai.
Sanju Samson was not India’s preferred opener in the buildup to the championship. India changed their starting combination at the last minute, although Samson was not their first choice opener throughout the first five matches of the World Cup. Samson was brought in as an odd Plan B as India faced four must-win matches, and he led India to their most successful chase at the T20 World Cup in the second of those.
India’s defensive bowling limited West Indies to 195 in this virtual quarter-final, a nice reminder to the 2016 semi-final between these two teams, when West Indies kept India to 193. Like India that night, the West Indies were left to rue their opener’s slow innings, a 33-ball 32 from captain Shai Hope. Aside from that, the six-hitting group scored 163 in 14.3 overs, which was more than average for the conditions than their powerplay of 45 for 0.
With no extreme pace or mystery in their bowling, the West Indies desperately required asking-rate pressure or blunders from batters who had not played in many ICC must-win games. Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan made blunders, but Samson batted steadily for his 97 not out off 50, taking few low-percentage alternatives and achieving his maiden fifty in 13 innings and 26 balls. This was the first time in the IPL and T20Is that Samson opened and remained unbeaten in a successful chase, after which he went to his knees, gazed up into the sky, and crossed his heart.
